15 Haunting Photos of the 1930s Dust Bowl

Written by Alina Wang on May 20, 2025

Three women in vintage clothing stand together outside, each wearing a different style of gas mask. The image is black and white, and the background is a brick or stone wall.

In the 1930s, the Great Plains in the American South faced a financial and environmental catastrophe spurred by years of drought and reckless farming practices. Already reeling from the Great Depression, the region was hit by dust storms so thick and massive they blotted out the sun and smothered everything in their path. Farmers watched helplessly as their land (and livelihoods) quite literally blew away, while families packed up whatever they could carry before hitting the road in search of better opportunities.

Though the government eventually stepped in with programs to restore the soil, the Dust Bowl remains a somber reminder of how badly humans can damage nature — and the price they pay in doing so. Here are 15 haunting images from that devastating season.

1. Just Imagine Getting Engulfed in Those Billowing Clouds

A massive dust storm, with thick dark clouds of dust, approaches a small town with houses and buildings in the foreground during the Dust Bowl era. — tyler_casper

2. ‘A Dust Bowl Attacks a Town During the Great Depression’

Black-and-white photo of a 1930s street with parked cars and people walking, as a huge dust cloud looms in the background, illustrating the Dust Bowl era. — Cherry_Vinyl

3. A ‘Black Blizzard’ in South Dakota, 1934

A massive dark dust cloud looms over a town skyline during daylight, with text reading “One of South Dakota’s ‘Black Blizzards’ 1934” at the bottom. Silhouetted buildings appear beneath the ominous sky. — Reddit__PI

4. ‘Crops Began to Fail With the Onset of Drought in 1931, Exposing the Bare, Over-Plowed Farmland’

A large dust storm engulfs a small farmhouse, windmill, and fence on a dry, barren landscape, creating a dramatic, dark cloud in the sky. — CarbonCaptureShield

5. We Just Know He Was Stepping on That Gas Pedal

A black-and-white photo shows an old car driving on a deserted road toward a massive dust cloud, likely during the Dust Bowl era, with flat, barren land stretching out on both sides. — Laughter_On_Impact

6. ‘A Large Dust Storm descends on Hooker, Oklahoma, June 4, 1937’

A massive dust storm, known as a "black blizzard," looms over a town, with thick clouds of dust engulfing the horizon. The image shows small buildings and empty streets in the foreground. — morganmonroe81

7. ‘Drought Refugees in California. Dust Bowl Migrants Photographed by Dorothea Lange, February 1936’

Four children, wearing worn clothing, stand in front of an old car and a makeshift tent in a dusty environment, suggesting hardship and poverty during the Great Depression era. — UserDeleted

8. ‘The Dust Bowl Pictures Are Reminiscent of How a Mud Flood Could Cover an Entire Landscape.’ Scary Stuff

A man and two children walk past a weathered wooden house partially buried in sand, with dust or sand filling the air, depicting a harsh, barren environment. — Cobine

9. ‘A Dust Storm Engulfs the Residents of Tyrone, Oklahoma,’ 1935

A massive dark dust cloud looms over people and old cars as they try to escape across a barren field during the Dust Bowl era. The sky is obscured by the approaching storm. — Albertbailey

10. Colorized Image of a Rural Mother and Three of Her Children Near the Tennessee River in March, 1936

A woman in tattered clothing stands barefoot holding a small child, with two other barefoot children beside her, all wearing worn, dirty clothes, in front of a wooden wall. — Urban2487

11. Giving ‘Gone With the Wind’ a Whole New Definition

A person walks across a foggy street with vintage cars parked nearby and a lamppost in the foreground. Bare trees and small houses are visible in the background under thick haze. — TouchOfGlory

12. Those Street Signs Were Hanging by a Thread

Black-and-white photo of a foggy street scene with vintage cars parked, utility poles, and two business signs hanging. A small building and more parked cars are visible in the hazy background. — TouchOfGlory

13. Colorized Image of a Migrant Family During the Dust Bowl, 1930s

A family of five sits on a wooden wagon. The father, in a hat and overalls, sits in front, while the mother in a bonnet and three children sit behind him. A pale umbrella shades them under a clear sky. — UserDeleted

14. One of Dorothea Lange’s Iconic Images of Florence Owens Thompson, a 32-Year-Old Mother of Seven Children, in 1936

A weary woman sits in front of a makeshift tent, cradling a sleeping baby and with an older child resting their head on her shoulder. All three appear tired and unkempt, reflecting hardship and poverty. — marinamaral

15. ‘Dust Bowl Refugee Family Between Dallas and Austin, Texas, 1936’

A woman stands beside an old truck with a makeshift covered bed, where another woman and three young children sit on blankets. They appear to be traveling across a rural landscape with open fields behind them. — Bettmann/Getty Images

Looking for more photos of notable events?

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